The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1887-08-05
Mississippi Minerals.

We make the following extract
from the report Of Prot. JOEDsoD,
government geologist, relative to
his labors in this State:
"The region that l examined
principally aud where my chief
discoveries we're made lies between
the prairies on the east and the
vicinity OF the Illinois Central Rail.
road GU the west, and north OF the
prairie lands OF this, south. The
region is very broken and has the
purest soil in the State OF MisSis-
Sippi. Ignite is It's most prOmi
nent feature, aud DR.. Hiilgard has
called it the lIgnitic formation,
though neither he o any OF my
predecessors observed iron ore
there TO any extent.
"The iron discovered in this
region is somewhat peculiar. 1t
consists OF layers or beds of Ear
Donate of iron or iron clay stone.
These layers, whenever exposed to
Il mOspheIic agencies, become ordi-
nary limonite. The layers being
generally thin, quite thin, it would
not pay to go deep after them by
mining, bot there r many loclll-
ties where large tracts OF it are so
near the surface that it could be
mined in a very inexpensive man.
e by the process commonly called
stripping. Such localities can be
found in Tlppah, Benton, Calhoun,
Webster, WINSTON, Montgomery
and Choctaw counties at least.
''There is another class OF ore,
though that is a metamOrphOsis OF
the great green sand shell mari
known as the lowest number of the
Claiborne formation, recognized In
Alabama at Lisbon, on the Alabama
river, aud in Mississippi at Enter
PRISE, on an iron bearer. 1t is
characteriStically developed at the
latter place, and 10 the northwest.
This is very accessible, easy mined
aud in sufficient quantities, the bed
being from two or three to twenty
teet thick | don't know this of my
own ~knowledge, but | am told by
reliable parties that several tons OF
ore from around Enterprise was
taken to Birmingham aud ii furnace
there run with it quite satisfactorily.
"The phosphate rock belonging
TO the cretaceous period and the
shell marlS used forfertiliZerS, which
| explored, were to the south, and
west some of them within this Clal-
borne formation, but most of them
ere in counties which | have not
yet examined. OF these ore around
Enterprise can say that they are
specially adapted TO mixing with
the refractory Ores OF Alabama,
because they work up 81 easily.
They should, therefore, be very
valuable tor mat purpose; and then
again, they could be we'll utilized
10 making the charcoal iron.
"There is plenty OF excellent
llllN l'Gh W OC Nul hJ htlulCDtlI ~
Miss, about twenty five or thirty
miles from Enterprise, and they
lave the pine 10 make tie charcoal
~ abundance; so the TERRITORY
around EUteu rise promises ve;N
favorably for chalcoai iron, and 81
does the region lying SaA between
Holly Springs aud New albany.
| can SAY the saue thing Tor the
couutry around Duck Hill. but eau.
not give any countenance to the
exaggerated expectation which
arose ia The neighborhood of that
town u few mouths ago. / think,
however, that they have iron
enough there 10 sustain ii reasona.
blr industry in charcoal iron. Ii
would he more announcement to gel
lime than 1t would be at Enterprise,
bnt they could get it without much
difficulty